Alexandria, VA Estate Planning Blog

Your disabled child can be disqualified from governmental programs and required to exhaust (or spend down) his or her inheritance if you fail to properly plan. Parents of disabled persons have many significant parental responsibilities and proper estate planning is especially important.

Government programs provide basic assistance. Unfortunately these programs can have their budgets cut, benefits reduced, qualifications tightened, or they can be eliminated entirely. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid are two of the more well known and important programs. But disabled persons deserve more care than these programs provide. They deserve companionship, recreation, transportation, proper dental care, and much more.

Many parents erroneously believe that they must disinherit their disabled child. Special trusts can keep your child eligible and allow him or her to enjoy his or her inheritance. You can use a Supplemental Needs Trust to provide for your disabled child’s supplemental needs (the needs not provided by government programs) without making the child ineligible.

The cost of providing assistance to disabled individuals can be astronomical. Very few people have the money to provide their child with a lifetime of care. A Supplemental Needs Trust is a fantastic estate planning tool that allows the child to benefit from both government programs and their inheritance. Estate planning professionals can create a special needs trust tailored to your child's needs, your estate's value, and the dispositional scheme you desire. Contact us today and let a knowledgeable professional go to work for you.